Well, I visited the London store, and it wasn't really such a great experience, actually. It's all very impressive - big, busy, lots of stuff to catch your eye - but at the end of the day it was a warehouse piled up with stuff to buy. And to be honest, if that's what I want I can go e-shopping and save a lot of time and money.

The helpdesk/bar thing was a nice idea, except you have to book in advance, and even then there were big queues. Speaking of which, there were also huge queues to pay for anything, and there was very little chance of getting hold of a staff member if you wanted to ask a question or something. (I went on a weekday early evening, so I wouldn't have thought it would have been peak timing.)

So, yes, it's a good way of Apple getting PR and enthusing people about their great products, but if you're an existing Apple customer, I wouldn't rush to get there. Buy online instead, or find a friendly local store.